What Is Instagram Archive? The New Update Is Everything You Didn't Know You Needed

It can sometimes be hard to remember a time when taking a carefully-curated photograph of your brunch plate would have seemed totally weird, but in the age of internet-famous lifestyle bloggers and fitness models, sharing photos for unlimited public viewing on Instagram has become the norm. The problem? Sometimes you change your mind about a photo you've made public, and the only option to hide it is to straight up delete it. Until now, that is. What is Instagram Archive? On Tuesday, the social media giant announced the roll-out of its latest feature, which lets Instagram users hide their old posts without actually deleting them, according to The Verge. And if you change your mind later on? All you have to do is un-archive it, and it will return to its original location in your feed, complete with all original likes and comments.

According to Instagram, Instagram Archive was designed to allow users greater flexibility over their feeds, and to also provide them with a way to "preserve moments that matter" more easily than in the past. The new feature was test-run with select users back in May, according to The Verge, and is now available to all users as part of the app's most recent update. All you have to do to hide a post you no longer want hanging out in your feed? Tap the "..." found at the top-right corner of the photo, and choose "Archive."

Courtesy of Instagram

The new feature might be a total win for anyone who has ever cringed over an embarrassing IG snap, or who hasn't yet quite committed to getting rid of the filter-heavy pics we all thought looked majorly cool during the app's earlier days. But with the platform also evolving far beyond simple photo sharing to becoming an actually-serious pursuit of likes and followers and flat lays and design aesthetics, having the option to hide posts makes a lot of sense, too.

Have a post that doesn't "perform well"? Archive it. Have a post that doesn't quite contribute to your desaturated, lots-of-white-space, perfectly-posed-yet-supposedly-candid uploads that regularly impress your thousands of devoted followers? Archive that as well (oh, who am I kidding, that would have been deleted long ago).

Courtesy of Instagram

So far, Instagram Archive seems to be well-received among users, who are relieved to finally have an easy way to hide their regrettable social media moments:

So what happens to all the photos once you've hid them? According to Instagram, they'll no longer appear on your actual feed, but instead in a separate page called, well, the Archive. You can access the page anytime by choosing the archive icon at the top-right of your feed's page, though they won't be visible to anyone else unless you restore them back to your feed again.

Courtesy of Instagram

Basically, Instagram Archive is a great option for anyone whose ever looked back and thought, "yep, definitely don't want that on there anymore," without having to commit to deleting it forever. That might not seem like a huge deal on the surface, but let's be honest, chances are it's a feature that will be getting a lot of use now that it's become widely available.